


Let's Dance

by Xemriss



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Diary/Journal, Original Character(s), POV First Person, POV Original Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:55:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24124747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xemriss/pseuds/Xemriss
Summary: While stopped in Urzin to rest, I was invited to dinner with the orc Overlord, Botoll the Second. I agreed, thought it a curious thing until I arrived and saw that the invitation had been extended to a handful of other adventurers. The food and drink was quite the selection, and not wanting to give the wrong impression, I sat and began eating after the Overlord insisted that we stay and dine.(in which I write about the adventures of my male drow bard, Merak, in my Sunday afternoon D&D game set in Wildemount)





	Let's Dance

While stopped in Urzin to rest, I was invited to dinner with the orc Overlord, Botoll the Second. I agreed, thought it a curious thing until I arrived and saw that the invitation had been extended to a handful of other adventurers. The food and drink was quite the selection, and not wanting to give the wrong impression, I sat and began eating after the Overlord insisted that we stay and dine.

While doing so, the Overlord explained that the war had reached Xorhas, and mentioned that his father had been slain forty years ago – apparently the Overlord’s people preferred his father to him.

The Overlord wants us to find his most trusted advisor, Bulbara, who had been kidnapped and taken to Fort Venture, located at the base of the bluffs – which, unfortunately for me, is located three days from here, through the _swamp_ by _foot_. He offered to pay sixty six gold per person, but I initially refused because of the environment.

Without much hesitation, a dragonborn named Aririel offered me her share as if gold wasn’t what she cared for. I immediately agreed before she could change her mind. The others that had been summoned for this task didn’t seem to care one way or the other.

The Overlord assigned us a hobgoblin, Morgid, as our scout, whom we were to meet up with in the morning. Afterwards, I savored the rest of my plate as I finished, and left to rest and prepare.

In the morning, we began the messy journey into the swamp.

During the first day, we encountered a giant snake, and Aririel managed to get the finishing blow despite being knocked unconscious _twice_. It was quite pitiful to witness. I wonder if she’s even right for such a task?

I’d ask the same thing about Morgid, but he left us after he was knocked down _once_ by the snake. Aririel managed to get the map from him before he fled. The coward makes her look like a village hero.

That night we slept atop a hill, out in the open, like animals.

There was, thankfully, less fog during the second day, but somehow half of our party managed to get separated from us, so it was just Aririel, a sea elf named Wysteria, and myself.

First, we noticed a boneyard in the distance, seemingly littered with giant beast skulls, but decided against venturing towards it. Then, not much later, a dilapidated tower caught the curiosity of my… ‘companions’. I was against going near it unless one of the others investigated it, first. For reasons I can’t fathom, they agreed, and Aririel ventured towards it and inside. A moment later, she stuck her head back out and relayed that spider webs were everywhere, then disappeared back inside. A moment later there was a scream, and I, unhappily, went to see what the reason for it was.

The tower’s first floor was halfway submerged in water. Aririel was standing on the spiral, stone steps that led up to the second floor, a spider web covering her from the neck up.

_Five_ giant spiders crowded around the top. I forced myself to wade through the water and tried to cut her free with my rapier, but the angle only managed to get it caught. The two of us tried to fight the spiders off, while Wisteria fought from the outside, but it wasn’t enough. Aririel became stiff and fell unconscious after being bit, and I, unfortunately, followed suit soon after.

I awoke wrapped in white, but managed to easily cut my way out with my dagger – only then realizing it had been a cocoon. The room had a few other cocoons, two were wiggling, but I took a moment to clean myself with prestidigitation before trying to cut one of them open. Aririel managed to rip her way out before I was done, but she came to help me free Wisteria afterwards.

Instead of immediately leaving before the spiders returned, the two of them decided to search the husks lying about.

Aririel found the body of a drow soldier. I didn’t pay much mind to it until she showed me a ring. I immediately recognized it as my friend’s and took it from her after she wiped it off. As calmly as I could, I searched the body afterwards, but didn’t find anything of note other than the usual long sword and elven chain armor, neither of which I took.

I’m not sure why it was important, but Wisteria decided to take a moment to try and make portraits of the husks, and Aririel helped her. They didn’t turn out terribly, surprisingly, and I might try to take the portrait of my deceased friend after this task is done.

We finally headed out, and camped out in the open once more.

We should’ve reached Fort Venture on the third day, as promised by the Overlord, but with the absence of our scout, and the missing familiarity of the area, we became lost and wasted it.

The three of us crammed into Wisteria’s two person tent, and even though it was _far_ from ideal for me, it was _much_ cleaner and comfortable.

The night went without interruption, and on the morning of the fourth day we managed to meet up with our other missing companions.

We thankfully found Fort Venture not too long afterwards, but by how deserted and ominous it looks, I’m not sure it’s a good thing.

I hate it out here.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr ([ **@jaxxem**](https://jaxxem.tumblr.com/)) and twitter ([ **@xemriss**](https://twitter.com/Xemriss)) _!_ <3


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